North Korea is Playing A Vital Role In the Gulf Crisis

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In the ongoing diplomatic crisis in the Persian Gulf between Qatar and a rival Saudi-led bloc, an unusual role is being played by a country thousands of miles away: North Korea. In recent days, both sides of the dispute have been accused of having an illicit economic relationship with the isolated nation - a touchy subject in Washington, given Pyongyang's advancing nuclear weapons program and antagonism toward the United States. 

 Last week, reports detailing an alleged arms deal worth $100 million between North Korea and a company in the United Arab Emirates resurfaced online. Then on Tuesday, UAE rival Qatar was accused of having a "dangerous" relationship with North Korea in an op-ed published in the Hill newspaper. 

 There's at least some truth to both allegations. Details of the sale of North Korean weapons to an Emirati company were revealed in a 2015 leak of UAE government emails first reported by the New York Times; the emails showed that Yousef al-Otaiba, Emirati ambassador to Washington, was summoned to a meeting with the State Department because of the deal.

The UAE link to North Korea resurfaced thanks to the Washington-based Gulf Affairs Institute - a think tank ran by Saudi dissident Ali al-Ahmed - and it was promoted by a number of Qatar-leaning publications. Meanwhile, the Hill op-ed was written by Salman Al-Ansari of the Saudi American Public Relation Affairs Committee, a Saudi lobbying group. 

 With the Trump administration seemingly split on how to deal with the crisis, extensive efforts are being made to influence the opinion of American lawmakers and the general public. 

 "I think that a key objective of the media campaign, for all parties, is to win over hearts and minds in the Beltway echo chamber, which is why we are seeing the proliferation of stories guaranteed to resonate strongest among decision-makers," said Kristian Ulrichsen, a Gulf expert at the U.S.-based Baker Institute for Public Policy.

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